How an AMC Can Help Boards Avoid Chasing "Bright Shiny Objects"

By: Patricia H. Troy, CAE

When a client association's board of directors sets its sights on a new endeavor without thinking it through, the association management company must guide the board in understanding potential costs and impacts on the management's workload. Here are steps you can follow to keep boards focused and committed.

If you read Road to Relevance, by Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers, CAE, you know that the term "bright shiny object syndrome" is a way to describe distractions from an organization's strategic plan and mission. Of course, for our executive director and CEO colleagues in standalone associations, chasing bright shiny objects translates into long working hours and failure to accomplish existing organizational objectives.